Where Things Stand
by ncc2011
Summary: One-shots of the main characters after the events of "You're Getting Old".  Kind of depressing, but then again, so was the episode.
1. Kyle's POV

I never thought I'd be thinking this, but it's happened: Stan is no longer a part of my life and I couldn't be more relieved. We were inseparable, super best friends if you will, for the longest time. I couldn't imagine a life without him in it. I often thought about how even when we would become old men, we'd always have each other's backs.

Who would have thought turning 10 years old would dramatically change his personality? Ever since his birthday party at Whistlin' Willy's, he's been nothing more than a cynical asshole. At first, I believed him when he said the doctor's diagnosis of him was bogus. Now, I can see that it was indeed legitimate.

When his interest in tween wave music did a complete 180 overnight, I became a little concerned. That concern went up a little bit after he complained about the Xbox game I was playing with Cartman and Kenny. After a trip to the ice cream parlor went sour too, I just gave up on trying to help him. I can't hang out with someone who only focuses on the negative side of everything, even if that person is my best friend.

That trip to see the new X-Men movie was the last chance and also the last straw. After Stan complained about each and every trailer shown, the rest of us knew that if we stayed, there was no way in Hell we were going to be able to enjoy the film without him pointing out how shitty every last detail was. We were done with him. Finished.

Even as I did my best to break the news to him as gently as possible, I think he started to see me as shit too. Normally, he would have said something to keep the argument going, but not this time. He just walked away defeated with his head dropped down. I hated to do it, but nothing you've ever done with a friend in the past matters if he doesn't see the good in anything and lets you know about it.

I heard through the grapevine not long after that Stan's parents split up. They sold off their house and each parent went in a different direction. No one knows where his dad went, but I know his mom took him and his sister with her. The family minus the dad couldn't have gone far because Stan is still in our class, but he talks to practically no one anymore.

While I've lost a best friend, I've gained a true friend though. Ever since we met, I never knew why I hung with Cartman as he always ripped on me, usually for being Jewish. While we've become close on several occasions, we've never really gotten along because of his ignorance and hate of various groups of people as well as his love of all things him. Stan's newfound cynicism however actually made me find comfort in the times when it was just me and him.

As awful a person Cartman is, he has never brought the whole group down. When he spews hate speech, he has always intended to get a rise out of me. That was never Stan's aim as he doesn't actually hate anyone. These days, he just tells everyone that everything is shitty and that has a more negative effect on the people around him than any anti-Semitic statements are capable of.

I guess Cartman and I took solace in the fact that we no longer had anyone around to make our activities less enjoyable. With Stan out of the picture, there was a lot more peace and quiet. We liked what we were doing together and thus, we started to genuinely like each other. I honestly thought the Israelis and Palestinians would resolve their differences once and for all before that happened, but when circumstances change, anything becomes possible.

Would I like to be best friends with Stan again? Absolutely. If wishes upon stars actually came true, I would definitely make one for Stan to go back to the person he was. However, I'm smart enough to know that the Blue Fairy from _Pinocchio_ isn't going to magically appear to make that wish come true, so Stan is going to have to make himself realize once more that the world is not complete and utter shit that deserves to be pointed out.

Until that day comes, I'm okay with hanging out with just Cartman, Kenny and even Butters. My life is good and I'm thankful for the way everything is right now. As long as it stays that way, I have no complaints. I just want to enjoy myself.


	2. Stan's POV

To me, the word "shit" has become a synonym for everything. There's nothing good around anymore. Even worse, if you looked up the term "shitty life" in the encyclopedia, you'd find my picture. That's me: Stan Marsh.

I thought my 10th birthday would be a blessing, but it's become a curse. Things I once found enjoyable literally turned into shit. I can't explain how it all changed so dramatically and so suddenly. It just happened.

It all began when I snuck out my iPod Touch after my mom tucked me into bed one night. She had taken away the new tween wave CD I got from Kyle at my party, but that didn't stop me from listening to the music I already had on there. The plan seemed brilliant. At least it did until I realized every track sounded like shit and thus, my interest in the genre was gone.

I went to see a doctor to get an explanation, but after he diagnosed me as a "cynical asshole", everything he said sounded like shit. It didn't stop there. The latest Xbox game was shit, so was ice cream, the mall and everything on restaurant menus. Get the picture?

I've never been one to hold back my opinions of things. I always tell things like they are. If something is good, I'll say it's good. If it's shit, I'll say it's shit.

My friends got fed up with me sharing my opinions and lied about feeling under the weather when they were really going to see the new X-Men movie together. I caught them in the act when they walked past the restaurant I was at. I begged to come along and they let me on the condition that I not complain about anything during the time at the theater. I said I wouldn't, but once we took our seats, I knew I wasn't going to last.

I saw three movie trailers that all looked like they had shit and other nonsensical things. The trailer announcer even appeared to call out the general viewing public for their tastes and the fact that they would throw their money away at the box office on these films. I just had to point out how shitty it all was because all the shit I saw was too much to bear. My friends all walked out, sending a message that I had my chance and blew it.

They said they didn't want to hang out with me anymore. Even my super best friend Kyle told me I had changed, to which I replied that the world had changed instead. Then suddenly, a bunch of crap came spewing out of Kyle's mouth and he appeared to turn into that himself. I was crushed to the point where I could just walk away without saying anything to retort.

I kept on seeing shit everywhere, including nature. There was shit on flowers, insects, even the sun. Instead of kids at school, there were living pieces of shit. Sitting at Stark's Pond used to help me forget my troubles, but with all the shit I'm surrounded by now, doing that has proved impossible.

As if to pour a whole silo of salt on an open wound, my dad dropped a bombshell when he sat down on my bed and said he and my mom couldn't and wouldn't be together anymore. Our house, the only home I'd known my whole life, soon had a "For Sale" sign on the front lawn. Dad packed up his belongings into a truck and left, leaving Mom with Shelly and myself. The three of us moved to a different house in town, presumably to get away from the painful memories this separation would surely cause.

The change in scenery has done nothing for my new view of the world. The fact that I no longer have my whole family living under one roof may or may not have something to do with it. It may take awhile for me to figure that out. That and a whole lot of other things.

Regardless, my life is clearly at its all-time low. My parents split up, probably permanently this time, and I have no friends to help me through this difficult time. On the other hand, how can I go to anyone for help if they all seem like shit? If Chef was still alive, I have a bad feeling that he would become shit too.

I have no idea who I am or what I've become anymore. I don't see a whole lot of hope for the future. The world is shitty and my own life is in ruins. How can one pick up the pieces when it all comes crashing down so suddenly?

I do know this: entering double digits took away all that innocence I once had. There was a time when I had dreams and yearnings for when I became old enough to pursue them. Physically, I'm 10 years old, still a child, but in my mind, I feel like I'm now 40. Where the hell do I go from here?


	3. Randy's POV

I could see this coming for a long time. It was no longer a matter of whether it would occur, but when. Sharon and I have gone our separate ways again. The only difference is it's probably for good this time.

Yes, Stan turning 10 had something to do with it. Yes, my pursuit of being the next big tween wave artist had something to do with it. If you look closely, these and a bunch of other things all have a common theme to them. That theme is I feel old and will do whatever it takes to come off as young so I can stay happy.

I can't pinpoint the exact moment where my unhappiness began. I only know that I used to live life seriously and not long ago, I began what could probably be best described as an extended midlife crisis. I have to admit that Sharon was right when she said picking drunken fights with baseball dads, playing _World of Warcraft_, looking to become the next big Food Network star and even my tween wave experiment are all things that would have been better pursued at a younger age. However, something inside me showered a wave of regret over not living life to its fullest and I developed a now-or-never mentality.

In reality, I think tween wave is crap, just like Sharon said it is. When I first heard it, I became worried that I was turning into my wife, someone who is overly critical of every new youth fad and thus looked down upon by the young people who seem to dictate the direction pop culture heads in. I didn't want that to happen to me. Rather than fight it, I felt the need to join it so I could stay up with the times.

I truly wish I didn't have to lose my marriage, but the falling-out Sharon and I had became too much for either of us to hold it in anymore. We've both gotten older and thus grown apart. I told her that since I'm probably closer to the end of my life than the beginning, I want to enjoy whatever remaining time God has given me. I had a choice of staying married to a woman who wasn't going to support whatever activities I wanted to get involved in or breaking it off before it was too late.

It was tough to choose, but at the same time, pretty easy. By getting out of the married life, I could enjoy the things I wanted to enjoy without anyone tying me down. Of course, I'd still be responsible for the well-being of Shelly and Stan and that's fine since they're more important to me than anyone else in the world. I'd be free of everything else though.

I really wish I didn't have to leave my kids in this situation. It's not their fault their parents aren't together anymore. Also in a way, I'd rather they live with one separated parent than two married parents who no longer feel any connection between each other. That could create a lot of stress for them, but then again, they're probably stressed out by their new family situation anyway.

Sharon and I put the house up for sale and I moved out before the rest of the family did. While I'll still be able to see the kids regularly, they'll be spending most of their time with Sharon. It breaks my heart that I couldn't take them with me. That's what happens anytime a couple with children splits though: one parent is going to see their kids less than the other one.

While I'm out on my own now, I still can't sleep at night. I spend a lot of time trying to figure out just what it was that made my marriage fail. Was I too willing to try things that would make me feel younger than I actually was or was Sharon too willing to settle down and be content with everything she had ever done? What I do know is when one partner wants more at an older age and the other doesn't, there's no way the marriage can work anymore.

Outwardly, I'm the same happy-go-lucky guy my friends have always known. But inside, I can't help feeling bad about the pain I've caused for the people who are closest to me. Sharon no longer has a man in her life and my kids can only see one parent at a time from now on except on special occasions. None of this would have happened though if I didn't feel trapped in a life that was holding me back from myself.

It's going to take some time for me to get over this as I'm sure it will for the rest of my family. There's a chance at least some of us might not ever get over it. Having your world torn apart right before you is a difficult thing to stomach. I can only pray the pain of separation will ease over time, however long it may take.


	4. Sharon's POV

I have always viewed marriage as a sign that a person is ready to settle down and have children. That's exactly how I felt when I married Randy. We had two children: Shelly and Stanley. Everything was going well and then, everything changed.

If I had known Randy wasn't ready to settle down himself, I never would have married him to begin with. Then again, we were both young at the time of our wedding and when some people are young, they think they've found the life they want. For a long time, we loved each other to the point where we thought we would grow old together and die together. Then, somewhere along the way, our personalities just took off in different directions.

In the argument that clinched our futures, I pointed out just a few of his recent activities that I disapproved of, including the latest one: an attempt to hit it big in the crappy tween wave genre of music. He finally admitted that the reason he was doing all these crazy, immature things was he had been unhappy for a long time and wanted to enjoy the time he had left. At that moment, I realized I was unhappy too. It only made sense since I couldn't remember the last time I got on board with something he did, especially if it was exciting.

I told him people get older and thus, grow apart. I had grown up and he was regressing back to a young, crazy kid. The equation just didn't add up. We had to get away from each other, so we did.

I don't think Shelly and Stan took the news well, but neither one has shown much emotion about it. I'm particularly worried about Stanley. Ever since his 10th birthday, he's become really quiet and doesn't socialize anymore, not with Eric, Kenny or even Kyle. This newest development in his life can't be helping things, but if Randy and I weren't happy together anymore, how could we keep living under the same roof, much less sleep in the same bed?

Yes, we divorced once before, but only cheap makeup sex in Stan's clubhouse got us back together. The wounds are much deeper this time, meaning there's even less of a chance that our problems can be fixed. If we both adjusted in order to satisfy the other's expectations, we'd both become people we don't really want to be. Our decision is regrettable, but it's best for everyone, including our children, whom we'd rather they have split parents than parents who are together, but always have conflict come between them.

I wish we didn't have to sell our beautiful home, but if I'd stayed there, too many memories, painful ones, would have come up on a regular basis. There was no way I wanted to live with that possibility. Randy packed what he had in a truck and left first. The kids and I packed up the rest of the house before we moved out ourselves.

Our new house may be a house, but it still doesn't quite feel like home. For me, our real home is where we lived before. We moved because we were just getting away from a previous life that ultimately ended in heartbreak. It is for that reason that we can't go back there.

We're all in a deep funk right now, but we have no choice but to weather the storm. It's going to take some time, but I know we'll do it. I need to sleep easy again and my children need to be optimistic again. We'll have our good days and bad days, but in the end, we're family and we'll always have each other.


	5. Cartman's POV

All I can say is what the fuck is happening to me? I don't mean my personality is changing. I'm perfectly happy with who I am. What's changing is my relationships with guys I've been the closest to for a long time now.

The changes started happening after Stan's 10th birthday. Now, I've never been able to call Stan, or anyone for that matter, a close friend, but he's always been the most normal out of our group (except for me, of course). But suddenly, he didn't seem so normal anymore. A doctor told him he was becoming a cynical asshole and I could see why.

Playing video games and eating ice cream are things our group has always done together without any hassle. However, Stan no longer enjoyed these things and made us all aware of it. Talk about being a lame downer. He was ruining our activities with his negative attitude.

I've always hated Jews, hippies, gingers and other minority groups. The statements I make are meant to get a rise out of people, especially Kyle, who is a daywalking Jew himself. Stan's case was a little different. Whereas I target people who are responsible for the world's problems, Stan wouldn't shut up about things that are supposed to make you enjoy life, which is why the rest of our group initially didn't invite him to the movies that one day, but he caught us in the act and begged to come along.

Even though we warned him about spreading his cynicism, he just couldn't help it during the previews. That confirmed what we already suspected: he had changed for the worse. We walked out of the theater and let him know that we were through hanging out with him. Constantly spreading bad vibes is a one-way ticket to getting booted from a group and that's what Stan did.

As strange as it was to see Stan transform like that, what followed was even stranger. Despite all the fights and arguments we've ever had, Kyle and I became closer in just hanging out together and I began to genuinely like him. LIKE him. For the first time in my life, I was able to see through every ounce of Jew-ness that engulfed his body.

We had agreed, along with Kenny, that ditching Stan made life a lot better for us. Though we never officially said it to one another, we swore never to bring each other down despite everything that was wrong with the world. Playing hassle-free rounds of Xbox made things a lot smoother and that's how we were able to grow closer. I may have finally found a true friend in this world and his name is Kyle Broflovski.

Another reason I find all this strange is that Stan and Kyle were always inseparable. When Kyle joined Kenny and myself in turning our backs on him though, I knew the change in Stan's personality was very real and drastic. To be honest, I don't know if this newfound bond with Kyle will last as we seem to be an unlikely match. I guess time will tell.

It sucks for Stan that we left him right before his parents split, but hey, that's his problem. We still see him at school, but we ignore him and he ignores us. We just want to enjoy being kids. I don't think that's too much to ask.

With all of these changes taking place, where does everyone go from here? Will Stan stay a cynical asshole and continue to spiral downward? Will I become a best friend to Kyle instead of just a good friend? Will hippies ever go back to the dark hole they crawled out of? There's so much to look forward to and I can't wait to see all the cool things that are up ahead.


End file.
